Counties Manukau Health opened stage one of the new Tiaho Mai Mental Health Unit at Middlemore Hospital today. Tiaho Mai is a residential unit for supporting people with mental health problems during crises and providing care for people from Ōtāhuhu to Mercer, including Kaiaua and Port Waikato.
The new unit is part of a world-leading 38 bed adult mental health inpatient facility.
Mental health services across Aotearoa are struggling to cope with unprecedented numbers of those in desperate need. Stage Two of the project will commence early next year.
When it's complete, it will be able to accommodate 76 patients.
Minister of Health David Clarke, who unveiled the new facility today says, "Everyone will be hopeful to see the changes that have been made, the lessons that have been learnt from tangata whaiora and from tangata whenua. The build of this facility incorporates Māori design and has been co-designed by people who have lived experience of mental health needs.
"I feel that there is a more holistic approach on display here, it's great to see a place that has a whare on the outside, a courtyard, spaces that are light and open. you don't have that sense of being restricted or imprisoned as you do in some older mental health facilities."